Hero's
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: Hero's come in all shapes and sizes. They can be someone you know or someone who is a total stranger to you. Naru has been a hero from the moment of her birth. Her grandfather always told her so. Now let's see if she can meet the expectations placed on her shoulders by her peers. Fem Naru/ eventual someone. just be patient and there's a small add on to chap 5
1. Chapter 1

"Psst. Naru, wanna play a game?" The voice asked almost pleasantly as the child turned her head to look at the one who had spoken. It was the man behind the desk again. The one who always smiled when he saw her and insisted that she call him grandfather. The one who had come to retrieve her from her home in the woods outside of the village just a few short weeks ago after she had turned seven, after being left to live on her own for longer than she could remember.

The one who smelled of scotch and smoke and spices, which comforted her when she was feeling restless. But most of all he was the one who sent her on missions by likening them all to 'games'.

Narrowing violet eyes that once had been azure blue at him, she waited to hear what today's game was. For his sake though, she hoped that it would be interesting. She was growing bored with the more tedious missions. Like the two assassination missions that she had been sent on with the elder. _Just because_, He'd say cheerfully as the two of them walked out of the village gates together.

Why the last time they had gone on a mission together, she had wound up kidnapped and the elder had used ever little bit of strength he had had left just in his attempt to save her. Of course she hadn't needed saving quite as much as he had once she had reached him.

He had been outnumbered five to one, totally drained of his chakra, there had been wounds- raw, open and bleeding, all over his body. And she had been forced to disarm the one holding her hostage by ripping his arm off just below the elbow and taking his weapon; a katana blade three times her height and weight in her tiny hands and then place herself between him and his enemies and had picked them apart with the same ferocity as the demon sealed inside of her upon the day of her birth.

Deciding then and there that no one would touch the elder while she lived. Much like he had decided the same seven years ago when he had first taken her from her dead father's arms.

No one would touch her while he lived. And since the two of them were birds of a feather, they were more than a little possessive when it came to one another. He saw her as the precious granddaughter he had never had and well to put things simply for her- she saw him as a toy. Her favorite and only toy. The one that she would allow no one to touch or play with without her permission.

And permission was something that he would never have to worry about since she'd damn well never give it.

"How about it Naru? Do you wanna play a new game with me?" He asked as he carefully set aside the papers to enrole her in the ninja school that all children went too to learn how to become shinobi. She made a humming sound, something that told him that his games thus far were starting to wear her patience thin then asked,

"What sort of game?"

He gave her a cheery cheshire grin and folded his bandaged wrapped hands and said plainly, "How would you feel about a village wide guessing game?"

Naru looked at him strangely as she mulled over his words. He seemed rather pleased with himself since he could visibly see how interested she was in this game. It sounded...well, different. And if there was one thing that living alone had taught her it was that 'what was different wasn't always bad'. In fact 'different' in many cases could be considered good.

Very good.

Damn the man for being able to read her so well!

He knew that he had her hooked like a fish on a line. Now all he had to do was reel her in. And reel, he did. Damn him.

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The next day-

Naru looked at herself in the full length mirror that hung on the inside of her closet door at the new appearance she was to don every day until the guessing game was over- and curled her lips back from her tiny sharp little fangs in utter disgust. Oh how she hated that damned old man right now. And that was really saying something considering how much she had hated him for nearly drowning her when he had tried wrestling her into her first bath only to wind up almost killing them both when he had slipped on the soap that she had tried to shove up his- _Ahem_... Nevermind.

She needed to focus on the here and now. And the horrible, horrible, vivid orange and black shirt, pants, jacket and shoes outfit that he had given her to wear before going to work on her knee length silvery blond hair. Combing out the tangles and pulling it back and up into a high ponytail while leaving some shoulder length strands hanging from her temples that he took his time braiding once he was done making her over.

"So? What do you think of your disguise?" He asked in an obviously pleased tone. Thinking that she would respond with an- 'It's great! Wow. I don't even know my own reflection.' Instead of an honest,

"I think I want to murder you."

"Why?" The elder asked, sounding more than a little offended. "What's wrong with how you look? I think you look adorable."

"I look like a girl..." Someone said in a horrified tone. Oh god! Was that her? Was she the actual horrified party here?

"That's because you area girl."

"Yeah, but I've never looked it before."

"True-"

"So... I thought the main objective to this game was to make everyone think I'm a boy."

"Yes. That's right." The elder said with a grin that bordered on evil to the seven year old. "I've done all the paper work, made up a back story for you, and if you have any questions I've made a special note that you are to be sent specifically to me."

"All well and good but how am I supposed to make everyone think I'm a boy like this?" She said indicating to her outfit, hair and face. The elder smirked as he shrugged his shoulders at her question. Really what was there to say? He had more or less made it obvious what he was up too. And he had never said that he would make it easy on her.

That was why their games were so much fun.


	2. Chapter 2

After a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast slathered in butter and honey- Naru found herself being led through the village with the elder's hand gently resting on the nape of her neck, just under her hair.

The press of his hand silently urging her to continue forward even though all she wanted to do was dig in her heels and grab him by his beard and throw him into the nearest building they happened to be passing.

Gad this was embarrassing!

And to make things worse, the closer they got to the center of the village where the school was located, the more people they ran into. Parents, the elder explained, of the children that would be her classmates and friends. And the more they ran into the strange creatures known as 'parents' the more she got peculiar looks from everyone who came over to greet the elder before they tried to talk to her, only to be startled away by her unsociable behavior.

Finally the elder stopped and grabbed the back of her jacket in his fist to keep her from continuing onward and mowing down several taller kids in front of her as two adults, both young men with papers in their hands looked at each other and subtly nodded their heads before an almost painfully loud sound startled Naru into quickly clapping her hands over her ears, and letting out a pained hiss which earned her some funny looks from one or two of the kids in front of her. As one of the men- A tall guy with long dark brown hair pulled up into a ponytail and a scar across the bridge of his nose said in a loud enough tone to be heard over the faint whispers and mutters of the group.

"Alright kids, my name is Iruka. And this guy next to me is Mizuki. And when we call your names, come forward and make a little group off to the side. That group will consist of your class. You will stay with them, quietly and without complaint until all of the other classes are sorted and the sensei's of those classes have come to get them. Then we will go inside and start our first day by getting to know one another. Are there any questions?"

Naru's hand shot up in the air almost automatically, drawing Iruka's dark eyes to her for a moment as she glanced over at her arm with a small frown on her face a moment before the elder pushed her arm down and smiled at the younger man, pretty much asking him to continue.

Naru took the next few minutes to look around her at all the kids and adults, at the buildings, the playground. She counted the windows and doors within her sight and before she knew it her name was being called.

Dark eyes swept the small crowd of little faces, waiting for a response as the elder knelt down and softly told her to go on and join the other kids. Earning a death glare from her.

_Oh hell no. He was not just dropping her off and walking away like it was no big deal. _Naru thought as she swiped at his hand with her own and made a low, feral growling sound. She didn't deal well with strangers_ dammit_! As the elder should know from their first encounter. When she had tried to rip off his head...

She and strangers just didn't mix.

"Naru Uzumaki?" The man's voice called out again. The elder sighed and put his hand up in the air then replied for her,

"Here. He's right here..."

"I see. Well, can he come up here and get into place?"

The elder glanced down at her for a moment and saw the murderous look on her face. Oh dear, he thought as he tried to nudge her forward with the back of his hand only to find her feet firmly planted. And unless he was mistaken... Was she using her chakra to root her in place?

Now when and where had she learned such an advanced technique? He wondered before giving Iruka an awkward smile as he none too gently grabbed Naru up and tossed her over his shoulder hissing and spitting like a large cat and walked up front to where Iruka was- his expression a combination of comical horror and just outright horror- and set Naru down on her feet again in front of her teacher then stepped back as Iruka knelt down to see his student a little better as Naru pushed her hair out of her face and glared right at the man.

Iruka held his breath for a moment upon seeing Naru's little face. Good god someone must have made a mistake with the paper work he held! The child he was looking at in no way shape form or fashion looked like a male. Instead Naru looked like a- a well, _girl. _An impish and almost pixie like girl, sure, but a girl never the less.

And oh she looked so mad.

In fact he'd safely bet that if he were too stick his hand out to ruffle her silken hair- that he'd pull back a bloody stump where his hand had used to be.

Still, for some reason he felt his palms itch to try. So giving the child his most charming smile he said, "Well, well, I've always thought that there were pixies living among us but who would think they would become so careless as to leave one of their offspring to be raised among humans." He gently placed his hand on Naru's head and got a startled look on his face when tiny hands reached out and grabbed his vest and with a fierce and loud growl the child somehow managed to toss him several feet into the air.

Leaving him the only option of twisting around in mid air then deftly landing several feet away from the child as she was put in a headlock by the Hokage who was blabbering on and on about how she had obviously been raised by wolves or something in an effort to calm Iruka. Obviously thinking that he was upset by being thrown when in fact he felt the exact the opposite.

He wasn't upset. He was in awe that such a small, waif-like body had managed to strong arm him and throw him into the air like that when he weighed a good two hundred and ten pounds where as Naru probably didn't weigh more than sixty...when wet.

"I-I'm so sorry Iruka-san." The hokage continued on as Iruka waved off his apology and glanced at the child hanging complacent in his grip. Finding it odd that she wasn't trying to throw the elder like she had thrown him.

"That's alright Hokage-sama. I've heard that pixies were particularly vicious in their pranks. Still I must say, I've never been thrown by one so young..." Iruka said with a thoughtful undertone to his words as he picked up his papers and like he had with several other names before, put a red mark next to it.

The only difference between Naru's name and everyone else's was a little red heart.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a truly rare thing for a child to manage to keep Iruka's undivided attention regardless of where he was looking.

But somehow Naru managed it as she sat at her desk staring down at the sheet of paper he had placed in front of her just a short time ago after he and Mizuki had finished calling their children's names- before the hokage had tried to make a hasty get away only to be grabbed by his bead and growled at in their fierce manner of hers before being dragged into the school building flailing and floundering like a fish out of water.

Which would have been amusing if not for the fact that the hokage was their village leader and was for some reason- for good or bad- being strong armed by a little girl. Although Iruka wondered if the old man was truly being strong armed and just wasn't pants passingly frightened of the child for some reason.

Perhaps it was the latter.

Whatever the reason was, it was a little more obvious later that Naru had dragged the old man along because she didn't like strange places or people and _he_ was the only one she trusted at this point. Which was why Mizuki had given the elder a chair up in front of the class room where she could see him whenever she started to feel uncomfortable. Which was apparently a lot since she would look down at her paper for a few seconds then glance helplessly back at the elder and make a little whining sound then go back to her paper.

Deciding to walk around the classroom, Iruka stood and headed straight towards Naru's seat. The first desk in the second row, right next to the stairs where he could get to her easily. Like if there was a fire or the school was attacked by enemy nins or something (sure it sounded odd or even stupid to the casual observer- but well, stranger things had been known to happen).

Stuffing his hands in his pockets he walked up the steps and paused next to Naru's desk and leaned in over the top of her head a little bit to subtly see which question on the paper he had given her seemed to confound her so. And blinked down at the page of unanswered questions and frowned. What was wrong here? The questions were simple enough, running along the lines of, **What's your name?** to **What's you're favorite color? **or **What's your favorite food? **

Yet Naru kept glancing at the Hokage and making soft little whining sounds, belying her anxiousness about answering even one of those ridiculous questions. Kneeling down next to her desk, Iruka reached out and gently tugged on one of the braids hanging from her temple and asked softly, "Naru? What's wrong? You haven't answered any of the questions on your paper."

Naru winced at having her hair pulled and turned on the man with her teeth bared so that her small fangs were displayed and stood up and all but snarled at him as her eyes teared up and she flushed in embarrassment, "I don't know how to write! And even if I did- I wouldn't write down any answers on this stupid paper! You know my name, that's enough! Everything else is none of your concern."

Up at the front of the class, the Hokage sighed and pulled his hat down over his eyes in an effort to hide the blush creeping up his neck. Oh yeah... He had known that he had forgotten to teach Naru something these past few weeks after bringing her back to the village. But between the assassination missions and trying to tame a bit of Naru's wild nature and teach her how to read, do math, and teach her about medicinal herbs and such... He must have overlooked teaching her something as basic as how to write.

How stupid of him to be so remiss.

He'd have to fix that as soon as he could-

The quiet class room was suddenly full of soft laughter, causing the elder's head to swing around in hopes that none of the kids were laughing at Naru. She still didn't quite understand the concept of strength in moderation. Nor did she really understand that using her monsterous strength on a child of the village would likely clue the council and the shinobi in on her sudden reappearance after seven years of being removed from the village.

It could cause serious problems. He only hoped that she would stick to her self imposed decree of never laying a finger on someone weaker than her unless they could put up a decent fight.

As near as he figured, it was why she had fought him when she had first met him as well as grabbed Iruka and thrown him earlier. It wasn't so much that she felt they posed a threat to her- in fact she had explained to him once that she instinctively knew threats to her life when she saw them, and as such she tended to eliminate them before they had a chance to really come at her.

Her version of the old saying, Strike while the iron is hot, he supposed.

He saw an amused Iruka sitting on the floor next to her desk laughing and raised a brow as he glanced at Naru, wondering what she intended to do to him to stop him from laughing at her and was most curious to find that she hadn't raised her hand to slap him or lifted a foot to kick him in the head or anything. She just stood there with her head hung, her fists tightly clenched.

_So- she is just a child after all._ He thought in bemusement as Iruka finally got a hold of himself and said in an overly cheerful tone that must have grated on Naru's nerves after being laughed at like that, "Alright. I get it. You don't feel like letting anyone try to get to know you right now. I'll let that slide for the time being if you stay over today and let me teach you how to write. Sound like a deal?"

"You'll teach me..." Naru said in a small voice that was almost too soft for him to hear. Iruka nodded his head and smiled at her.

"Yeah. Before you leave today I swear you'll know how to write," He said as he slowly got up and took the paper from her desk and said, "But in return- you'll have to answer the questions on this at another time. One of my choosing. Okay?"


	4. Chapter 4

A few hours later-

It never ceased to amaze Iruka, the adaptability of children. He mused as he sat at the desk across from Naru, watching her hand as she absently put her pencil to the paper he had provided so that she could practice writing. They had been in the room together for no more than ten minutes in which time he had set everything up and shown her how to hold the pencil in her hand then written his name in a splendid display of skill.

The letters were small, neat and tidy, and had an almost scroll-ish look to them.

Yet the second he had finished writing his name down, instead of 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over his awesome skills Naru had simply taken the paper, looked at it for a second then applied her pencil to it and had written out her name in a similar style to his own- thoroughly shocking him right down to his toes.

After he had let her write her name several more times, he had then taken the paper from her and looked it over with a slightly disgruntled look on his handsome face then looked back at her. His dark eyes just slightly narrowed. If not for the look on her face earlier in the class room he might be tempted to think that she had been pulling his leg or something about not knowing how to write.

But she hadn't been joking around. And she hadn't been lying either.

The way she had tried to hold her pencil earlier proved that much. But he found it peculiar that she should know the alphabet, and even know how to spell yet have no common knowledge of how to apply the letters to paper to form words up until now. Not only that but the rate she picked up on things was abnormal as well. Was it possible that Naru could perhaps be a genius?

Her monsterous display of strength earlier could prove an asset in Tai Jutsu. It could also mean that she knew how to use and focus her chakra. And the way she seemed to absorb knowledge not previously known to her could also mean that she was capable of understanding and unlocking Jutsu's that may have been lost to the village for many, many years.

She could become a medical nin that rivaled only the legendary sanin Lady Tsunade!

Or a seal master/ breaker.

His excitement was mounting more and more by the minute he looked at her as she snatched the paper right out of his hand and continued to write down her name over and over again until half of the page was full before saying, "I think I've got it down now."

"Really," Iruka said as she set her pencil down and started to get up out of her seat when he asked, "Could I ask you something?" It seemed kind of dumb to simply ask her permission but well, dammit, before his parents had died they had beaten manners into him- so old habits died hard. Besides, some of what he may ask about her might be considered too personal to answer. So having her permission was for the best.

Naru looked at him, her violet eyes boring a hole through his head as she silently nodded then sat back down in her seat.

"You have a grasp of the alphabet, or at least I assume you do-"

"You're not wrong but please get on with it."

"How is it that you have a grasp of the alphabet but no knowledge prior to now of how to put it to use on paper?"

"Oh that. That's partially grandpa's fault." Naru said as she glanced towards the class room door.

Following the motion of her head, Iruka also glanced in that direction and nearly banged his head on his desk when he saw the Hokage peeking in with a curious look on his face. Obviously wanting to know how things were going. "He taught me the alphabet, math, how to read and a few other things... But he sort of forgets the smaller things if he isn't reminded. Sadly I'm kind of the same way. I understand things well enough once I'm shown how to do them. But- if a person who is unknowledgeable of something is given a task they know nothing of how to complete. Well, things just go badly for them. Especially when they are left to figure things out on their own."

"I've never been to a village before a few weeks ago when grandpa came for me. I've lived alone in a small building that was barely more than a shack. So I have no previous knowledge of school, socializing, or anything else. I get annoyed easily. And frustrated even easier. Up until now, what I've learned about the world has been limited only to that shack and the plants and animals that grew and lived around it. I survived by learning to mimic certain behavior patterns. So... I don't really know what I'm doing here. But grandpa feels that it's in my best interest to be here. And so far he's proven to be someone that I can trust."

Iruka listened carefully as his mind turned over every little snippet of information and nodded his head, knowing that he would have to take the information given to him into consideration when teaching her otherwise she would fall behind and asked one last thing. The thing that had been bugging him the most so far. "Naru, why does it say on your papers that you're a boy when it's obvious to me that you're a girl?"

Naru blinked at him, obviously startled by his question before replying in a somewhat hesitant tone, "Grandpa said that it was a game. But I caught on a while back as to why grandpa decided to make everything into a game. It was so that I wouldn't catch on that I'm supposed to be hiding."

This had Iruka sitting up straight in his seat rather quickly, his senses on the alert now. "Hiding? Hiding from what?"

Naru opened her mouth to reply when suddenly the Hokage stepped into the room and shouted, **_"Naru!"_** Causing the girl to look at the elder for a moment and then sigh and get up out of her chair and bow towards Iruka who got to his feet and looked back and forth between the two curiously as Naru finally said,

"Sorry sensei. I'm afraid that I've already said too much as it is. Thank you for teaching me to write." And with that she walked across the room to where the Hokage stood and took the hand he held out to her even as he continued to glare at Iruka before turning his back on the younger man with his silk robe swirling around him as they both disappeared from Iruka's sight.

Leaving him to wonder what the hell would have caused the Hokage to act like that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay people we've talked about this- if you can't say something nice... Then go fuck yourselves. **

**Honestly who do some of you think you are leaving reviews telling me that 'i'm a piece of shit'. Well two can play that game you little pissant. The next time you wanna call someone a piece of shit- take a good long look in the mirror. **

**And for those of you who have forgotten; flames will not be tolerated!**

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_"You shouldn't have spoken about your life outside of the village and my need to hide you," The elder said in an angry tone as he pulled her along behind him. Not walked with her. Not led her. Pulled her along- like a dog. Too great was his anger and worry over her sensei's questioning of her that he didn't even stop when she stumbled and he began to drag her. "I'm unclear on whether or not Iruka holds animosity for the child that the demon was sealed inside- So I have no way of knowing how he would react to knowing that you're that very same child." _

_"Then lie to him if you feel the need too. But inevitably he will find out the truth." Naru said as she started to tug on the hand he held in his grasp, trying her damndest to escape. _

_Stupid old man! He was hurting her! _

_The elder came to an abrupt stop, giving her enough time to regain her footing as he looked down at her for a moment. Her hair, and clothing now covered in dirt and other unsavory things before he said in a deathly quiet tone, "Go back to the tower without me and take a bath and eat something. I have something that I need to do-" _

_"You should calm down first otherwise your only going to make mistakes." Naru snapped at him in irritation as she picked leaves and several other things out of her long hair. _

_The elder reached out and placed his hands on her delicate little shoulders and knelt down in front of her for a moment and stared at her before saying gently, "There can be no mistakes in this Naru. You are the inheritance of this village. The inheritor of my will. The one who will one day take my place. Until your ready and the people can find a way to accept you- I will protect you in all things. Even if it's just from nosey school teachers. Now please, go home." _

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A week later-

Iruka sat at his desk alternating between grading the tests he'd given earlier and staring at Naru as she worked through the coded paper that he had assigned to her to see if she could crack his hidden message. And off to the side, leaning up against the wall in his seat- was the Hokage. His straw hat was tipped down to cover his eyes, giving him the illusion of sleep or restfulness, but Iruka wasn't fooled for a moment.

The man was glaring at him as if he were trying to will his hair to burst into flames or something. Since the first day of school for Naru, the Hokage had been acting strangely. Sure he continued to come to the school and sit in during classes, and Iruka couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the elder was continuing to stay glued to Naru's side in an effort to keep him from asking anymore questions.

Which only left him the calculated conclusions he'd come up with.

Naru had said that the Hokage was her 'grandfather' yet everyone and their cousin knew that the elder had no grandchildren as of yet. His daughter had only recently married and if the latest gossip was anything to go on- wouldn't be having any kids for at least another year or two since her husband had been sent on a mission shortly after their marriage. So maybe calling the elder 'grandfather' was simply a nickname or term of endearment for Naru.

Then again...it was well known that the Hokage had had three grown children, two son's Asuma, and Sora. And his daughter Yumi. Asuma was too busy with his job as a ninja to bother fathering any children. And Sora had died seven years ago in the Kyubbi attack- Wait a second.

Iruka looked back at Naru again, his eyes narrowing slightly. Was it possible? Could Naru really be the Hokage's actual grandchild? If she was it would certainly explain the elder's protective streak towards the girl. After all if any enemies learned of her existence they might try to kidnap, exploit her in some way or even kill her in an effort to hurt the Hokage.

Which would certainly explain Naru's story about living alone outside the village. It would even explain what she had started to say about needing to hide. However he still had questions that he wanted answers too. But with the Hokage playing mamma bear at the moment then he'd have to forget about trying to ask those questions.

Which meant that in the meantime he'd have to play things by ear.

A paper suddenly appeared in front of his face, breaking off his train of thought and causing him to tip back his head a little bit to look at the person standing there and blinked when he noted that it was Naru and spazzed out for a second before catching himself and asking nervously, "Naru, finished already?"

She nodded her head and set the paper down on his desk and then folded her arms over her chest and stared at him as he picked up a pen and started grading the paper. He shouldn't have been surprised when she got an A on it. But oddly enough for some reason he couldn't really fathom- he was surprised.


	6. Chapter 6

Recess-

His initial surprise with Naru's test score's and comprehension of the shinobi arts melted away to a violent sense of- well, _violence _as Iruka watched what must have been the fifth batch of male students walk up to the girl and try to strike up a conversation with her.

Tightening his hand subconsciously on the ink pen in his hand as his dark eyes strayed not once, not twice but three time from the small pile of papers that he'd carried outside with him, he bared his teeth and silently snarled at the group of- of- _boys._

How dare they bother Naru while she was trying to swing on the swing set! He thought in utter disgust as the Hokage flopped down on the bench beside him with a huff and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Lord Hokage-" Iruka started to ask the elder why he wasn't doing something about the kids bothering Naru, but thought better about it and shut his mouth as the Hokage tilted his head slightly to the left and then smirked evilly before saying in a sing song voice,

"Someone's about to wind up with a broken nose," To which Iruka could only turn his head to gape at the man before the elder reached out and used one hand to force his head back around and then pointed at the group of kids and said almost gleefully, "Watch."

Iruka blinked and looked back towards where Naru and the group of _boys- _ew, he was starting to hate that word now- were all gathered and saw that two of the older kids had grabbed Naru and were pulling her back and forth in a bizarre game of tug-of-war.

The young man face palmed at the sheer stupidity of the kids yanking the poor girl back and forth and arguing over who she was going to play with first, and silently apologized to Naru on behalf of his gender when he heard a loud crack followed by a collective gasp of horror and two howls and removed his hand from his face to look at the group again in time to see a furious looking Naru standing in the middle of a circle of boys, rubbing one of her wrists and glaring at- _Oh shit_, Iruka thought as he suddenly registered why the two boys were howling like wounded beasts.

It was because she had punched them both in the face and broken their noses. And were both bleeding...badly.

Iruka's jaw went slack and fell open as Naru glanced towards him with a peculiar look on her pretty face. Almost a cross between ire and wariness. Accidents happened all the time on the playground so- Just what did the girl think would happen to her for punching her classmates? Iruka wondered as the Hokage sighed and muttered something inaudible under his breath that _might_ have suspiciously sounded like, 'Hn, damn. Missed it.' If Iruka had bothered to pay attention.

Setting aside his papers, he quickly got to his feet and walked towards the horrified group before things could get out of hand (like the last time someone had gotten punched and he'd wound up with his whole class rioting on him) and before any of the boys could recover from their shock and jump Naru, he grabbed the girl and yanked her by the wrist until she was hidden behind him before turning his attention to the two.

_And oh dear god_\- it looked like she had partially mangled their faces with something! Iruka thought as he leaned down over the two to inspect their wounds. There were what looked like slash marks going from one side of their face to another, each slash was over an inch deep and pretty much covered their whole faces from forehead to chin. ripping open the skin just under their eyes and across the bridge of their noses.

Iruka frowned at the sheer savagery of the wounds knowing that they would leave scars and with a quick look back at Naru, from over his shoulder, he saw her flicking her index and thumb nails together in what had to be an anxious manner as he collected the boys and started back towards the school building after asking the Hokage if he would mind watching his class until he returned.

The Hokage waved him off and continued to sit where he was as the rest of the kids that had been bothering Naru slowly edged away and rejoined the rest of the children. Leaving her to her own vices once again. Just the way she liked it.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Yo- everyone! I'm back, more or less. A_****_nd since it's been a while I thought I'd update._**

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"You shouldn't have used your nails on those boys," Sarutobi said later that day as he was walking with Naru through the village after school let out. She tipped her head back to look at him, her violet eyes focusing on his face, reading into his somber expression as he glanced down at her. "Those kids will have scars now."

"Why should I care? The stupid brats should have let go when I told them too. My arms and shoulders are still aching from being yanked back and forth." Naru said in an peeved tone as she moved her shoulders a little bit under her jacket. She'd been in a dark mood ever since the kids on the playground had used her for their game of tug-of-war leading up to the two boys having their faces scored by Naru's claw like fingernails.

"Because their parents will likely ask for retribution. As is their right after what you did to their children."

"If they do, I'll kill them." Naru said simply. Not bothering to make her words seem like they were merely a threat. No- that would be much too easy and forgiving. And _she_ was not a very easy or forgiving person. Sighing Sarutobi put his hand on top of her head and gently scrapped his nails along her scalp before saying,

"You can't kill them."

"Why?"

"Because it's wrong and you would be making enemies of them and their families."

"Why should I care about that? From the way you talk I've already made enemies of them."

"Yes. But just because someone may ask for retribution doesn't mean that you can kill them."

"Well, what about my retribution? Their kids nearly yanked both of my arms out of socket- so naturally they got hurt. It's only natural for me to lash out when I'm hurt or uncertain of something and scared."

"Yes, I know. But others do not understand that Naru."

"Then they'll have to learn." Naru said sharply as she stopped walking and glared up at him, letting him know that their conversation was beginning to get on her nerves. Sarutobi sighed again and nodded his head silently. Yes, the villagers would have to learn. But so would Naru if she was ever to take her true place as the greatest hero ever born to the leaf village.

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Iruka walked into the Akimichi clan's famous restaurant trying to think of nothing but something to eat and wound up thinking about what had happened with Naru and the two kids whom she had injured earlier, and was about to turn around and leave, when he caught sight of Asuma Sarutobi, Mighto Gai, Kakashi Hatake and Kurenai Yuui sitting across the room watching him- and knew that it was only a matter of minutes before one of them would wave him over and ask him to join them.

Figuring that maybe he should mention the incident between Asuma-san's niece and the boys today at school as an extra precaution so that the man would see about keeping extra tabs on Naru- he mentally prepared himself as he silently counted down.

_5...4...3...2..._

"Iruka-san," Mighto's voice boomed as he practically jumped up and nearly overturned the table he and his friends were sitting at in the process as he waved his arms wildly in the air. As if Iruka would have been able to ignore the tall green spandex clad hyperactive man like his friend Hatake Kakashi (one of the most adept people in the whole village at ignoring the green beast). "Iruka-san! Iruka-san! Come sit and join us and tell us stories of your student's!" The man practically shouted as he started to jump up and down in place until Kakashi got tired of his antics and punched him in a lightening quick move that not only made the man take a seat, but was guaranteed to keep him quiet as he tried to suck in what little air had escaped from his lungs.

Sighing, Iruka hung his head a little and walked over. Swearing to himself that he would only stay long enough to warn Asuma-san to keep an close eye on his niece and then he would grab something to go and go home so that he could eat and grade the stack of papers in the binders tucked under his arm.

"Hello everyone." He said as Kurenai scooted over and made a place for him across from the others so that he could sit down. Setting his binders on the table, he took his seat and exchanged polite greetings with everyone before Asuma asked,

"How are things at the school? The kids learning well?"

Iruka took a nervous breath and nodded his head a little bit as he thought, _Was that his way of asking if Naru was learning everything okay?_ Cause if so then maybe he didn't need to worry so much about the kid. "Everything is...uh...okay... There are one or two promising students."

"Really?" Kurenai asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes. In fact there is one in particular that I wanted to speak to Asuma-san about," Asuma looked at Iruka funny, but said nothing as he let the teacher continue. "This particular child is brilliant to the point when she can't function right. She knows how to use her chakra, hand to hand, she gets top marks in the class- However she isn't so good at socializing with the other children. In fact there was an incident earlier today where two boys were wounded after using her in a bizarre parody of tug-of-war."

"And this concerns me why?" Asuma asked curiously as he tilted his head slightly to the side. Iruka linked and regarded him for a moment with a frown. Something was wrong here. Asuma was acting as if- No, no, no. There's no way that he couldn't know about Naru...

Was there?

"Well, uh, I-I just thought that you would want to know that you may need to keep an eye on you're niece." Iruka stuttered out after a second or so. Asuma blanked his expression and stared at him oddly before shaking his head and saying,

"My what?"

Iruka stared at him wide eyed for a moment before suddenly bolting to his feet and grabbing up his binders and quickly muttering an apology, he was obviously wrong and Asuma should forget what he had just said. The only problem with that was that he knew the shinobi wouldn't forget. In fact he was pretty sure that he'd go straight to see his father and demand answers.

_Way to dig your own grave Iruka. _The teacher thought as he rushed out of the restaurant.


	8. Chapter 8

**Dear 'Guest'... Bite me. I've already explained that Naruko is a stupid name so I'm sticking to the Naruto gene even though I write fem Naruto stories. Now stop being a pain in the butt and leave me alone.**

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As soon as Iruka was gone Kurenai and the others all glanced at Asuma, noting that the man had set his hands upon the surface of the table and was fisting them so tightly that if they had been able to see his knuckles- they would have been totally white and bloodless as Gai manage to finally speak, "I didn't know that you had a niece Asuma-san."

Asuma tensed a bit and clenched his jaw for a moment before he gritted out angrily, "I. Don't."

"But then what was Iruka-san talking about?" Kurenai wondered aloud when Asuma suddenly got up out of his seat and cast a dark look in their direction and growled.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." And then vanished into thin air in a puff of smoke. Leaving the three of them behind to debate on whether or not they should follow since there was obviously going to be fireworks of some kind in the village tonight. And after a few moments or so of silent debate- Kakashi jumped up and shrugged his shoulders at Gai and Kurenai as he said,

"What the hell? This is interesting. I'm going." And disappeared in another puff of smoke to follow Asuma as the other two sighed tiredly and quickly got to their feet to give chase.

(********************************************************************************************************************************)

Sarutobi hadn't bothered to do any paper work today like he usually did.

Instead he had opted to take Naru to the back yard of his home where several miles of woods that he used as a training area from time to time to keep his skills sharp, could be found, and decided that after the event's of the day that he would sit down somewhere and watch the child go through the little bit of training that he had been drilling into her head.

First up had been tree climbing using her chakra. Which Naru now pretty much excelled at. After that, was learning a new jutsu. So far she had a wide variety of jutsu for a child her age due to how quickly she picked everything up. Each jutsu ranging from an Anbu's or Special Jounin's SSS-class to a genin's D-class.

After working on five jutsu, one of each class starting from the most difficult and gradually toning done to the easiest. Naru began some taijutsu kata's and was sparring with several clones that he'd made of himself when out of nowhere he sensed a hostile- yet slightly puzzlingly familiar- chakra, and was instantly on his feet and next to her as she automatically destroyed each of his clones and started to look around. Trying to zero in on the unfamiliar chakra.

Violet eyes bleeding to scarlet for a moment as she made a low feral sounding growl and started forward, her eyes fixated on one tree in particular.

Ah, it looks like she had found whoever was hiding. Sarutobi thought as he reached out and put a hand on one of her shoulders to restrain her and called out, "I don't know who you are or what you think your doing coming here like this, but I suggest that you come out." There was a moment or so of limb movement and then two men jumped down out of the tree, both of them decked out in combat gear and heavily armed.

Suddenly recognizing the two as the fathers of the two boys who had been injured earlier, Sarutobi sighed. _Damn._ He thought darkly as the two took a moment to glare at Naru before they both bowed to him then dropped to their knees and with one last glare at Naru spoke the words that Sarutobi most feared he would hear, "Hokage-sama, our son's have been grieviously injured by this child. We demand retribution on their behalf."

"I understand your feelings Shota, Mejin-" Sarutobi started to say when he felt Naru pull herself from his grasp and before he could stop her- attacked the two men without giving them even the smallest of chances to pull their weapons and defend themselves. The elder could do nothing but stand there in a state of utter disbelief and shout, 'Stop!' and 'Naru, don't kill them!' as he watched in horror as Naru mercilessly ripped through the two men.

Then just as suddenly as it had started, the fight (if one could even call it that considering how one sided things had been) was over. And the two lay on the ground in a small heap of broken bones and bruised and bloody flesh as Naru turned to look at him with an impassive expression on her face. There was blood on her hands, and small splatter patters of crimson on her clothing as she said in what sounded like a somewhat uncertain sounding tone, "Maybe that was a bit much..." Making him choke in outrage.

A bit much? A bit much!

He understood that Naru still didn't grasp many things about the village and the people in it. He also understood that there were simply some things she would refuse to hold herself back on, especially when she felt threatened in some way or another- but that didn't excuse her behavior towards Shota and Mejin.

Reaching out Sarutobi grabbed the child's wrist and yanked her back away from the two downed men and then went to check on them and see if they were still alive knowing that if they weren't then by nightfall everyone in both men's clans would be demanding Naru's life. Luckily she seemed to have heeded his words- since the two were still alive. Though he needed to see to it that they got medical care very soon otherwise they wouldn't be.

Sighing a little in relief, some of his anger melted away and he turned to tell Naru to go inside and get cleaned up. But the words got stuck in his throat when he saw his son and several of his jounin friends standing just a few feet away. Each of them with the exception of Asuma were gaping at the scene before them.

Their eyes going from him, to the two wounded men then to Naru's blood covered appearance.

_Oh dear god_, Sarutobi thought in despair. Would this day and it's seemingly endless supply of surprises ever end?


	9. Chapter 9

_Oh dear god_, Sarutobi thought in despair. Would this day and it's seemingly endless supply of surprises ever end? He wondered as he quickly tried to blank his panicked expression and stood up and said in as calm a tone as he could considering how upset he was, "Good timing you four- I need someone to take these two to the hospital. Any volunteers?" And waited for someone to ask what had happened as he thought up a cover story to keep the four from figuring out Naru was the one responsible for Shota and Mejin's wounds.

The only real issue here was he wasn't sure he could use some sort of mind jutsu to manipulate them into believing that the girl was harmless.

Mainly because he didn't know just _when_ they had gotten there and _how much_ they had seen. And tampering with their memories to try and erase anything that they might have seen Naru do was out of the question since Asuma was his son (and would never forgive- let alone trust him again if he did) and Kurenai and Kakashi were both so problematic when it came to genjutsu and other mind jutsu that they were both practically immune to them.

So one wrong move there and the two would not only storm his office within five minutes of leaving, but they'd turn on him like wild animals and attack. And that wasn't particularly something that he would enjoy, he was sure of it.

Finally after a heartbeat or so, someone spoke up (Kurenai, Kakashi, Gai- he wasn't sure and he didn't really care) and he nearly sighed in relief again when he quickly explained that he had been playing hide and seek with Naru and the two had come out of nowhere and attacked her, forcing the child to fight back. Which was why they were in such a bad way and Naru was covered in blood and looking from him to the group of jounin curiously.

Gai sighed and moved forward, breaking away from the group so that he could go over to the men- passing Naru who glared at the man's back and peeled her lips back from her teeth in a silent snarl- evidentially hoping that the two injured men would be left to bleed to death, and picked the two up carefully and after exchanging a look with the others (one that obviously said 'tell me everything later') he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Leaving Sarutobi to stare down the other three jounin as Naru huffed a little bit and crossed her arms over her chest and stood there waiting for someone to say something. Deciding to break the strained silence, he clapped his hands together and forced himself to smile at the three remaining jounin and asked, "So... What did the four of you need so urgently that you had to come see me at this hour?"

Asuma narrowed his eyes at his father and walked forward slowly as he stared unblinkingly at Naru. Taking note of her appearance, the color of her hair and eyes, her age, her height... This isn't good, Sarutobi thought as his finally spoke.

"I heard a funny little rumor that I had a niece. And being the loving son that I am-" Sarutobi had to hold back the urge to cringe at his son's tone. He just sounded so- so _pissed_. He didn't think he'd ever heard Asuma use such a tone when speaking to him before. "I thought that I would come to you...father, and see if any of those little rumors are true," Again Asuma gave Naru a long lingering look and then glanced back at him. His dark eyes practically smoldering with temper as he said in a gentler, deceptively coaxing tone. "Well? Is it true? Do I have a niece?"

At which point the elder reached out blindly and grabbed Naru and practically thrust her into Asuma's arms and started babbling almost incoherently, "Here. Her name is Naru. She just turned seven years old. She's your late brother's daughter. I only recently found out about her and went to find her. She was living alone in a village not far from here due to the fact that her mother died several years ago. So I brought her here where she could be raised by her family-" He ran out of breath at that point because Asuma was staring at him like he was insane.

And perhaps he was. Lord knew Naru could easily drive anyone mad.

He stood there huffing as Asuma opened and closed his mouth several times, his expression one of utter shock and disbelief. His younger brother had only been fifteen when he had died! How was it possible that he had fathered a child?! He wondered as he searched his father's expression for a moment trying to find any hints of a lie and found nothing but worry and uncertainty in his expression.

Why? He wondered as he glanced down at the little girl in his arms. She had her head tipped back and was staring at him with wide violet colored eyes that were nothing like his late brothers... So why- why did he have the sense that his father was worried he wouldn't accept the child as a part of their family? He didn't understand.

Did his father really think that he wouldn't accept a child that had been born to his brother and some unknown woman if said child really was his niece? But then- he had no real proof that the girl was or _wasn't_ his niece by blood. Now did he? Gritting his teeth for a moment he stared down at the child's small blood spattered face and felt torn between laughing at the absurdity of the situation and crying.

But in the end he managed to tamp down on most of his curiosity and his questions and managed a weak smile for the girl as a thought finally hit him. It wasn't entirely unheard of for bastard children to be born to his family. After all, he himself had been one for several years before his father had married his mother.

And just because the child's parents were gone meant nothing. Not really.

All it really meant was- he had a niece.


	10. Chapter 10

And the moment the thought finally managed to sink into his shock numbed mind, Asuma picked Naru up and sort of gave her a hug. Or at least it would have been a hug...if not for the fact that Asuma looked frightened out of his mind as he stared down at Naru. Taking in her violet eyes, and her ivory skin, and her blond hair. And unless Sarutobi missed his guess- was looking for any traces of the younger brother he had lost so almost almost eight years ago.

Thank god, if Sarutobi's memory served him right, his late son had been fair haired and pale skinned like his mother and sister. And his former girlfriend had had violet-blue/lavender colored eyes and after a moment or so, Asuma seemed to 'see' traces of those characteristics in Naru that seemed to match up with his memory and smiled a little bit at the child before turning his full attention to Sarutobi and demanding in a hard tone that almost made the elder feel like the need to squirm like a child.

"Why wasn't I told that I had a possible niece the exact moment that you found out about her?"

The elder sighed tiredly and tried to think up a reasonable enough explanation before he bothered trying to speak to his son. "I didn't want to get your hopes up..." Seemed the most reasonable way to start before he then said, with no small amount of uncertainty. "I wasn't quite sure what I would find. Or what her family situation was. Whether she was being cared for or cast out. Whether she was healthy, or ill. Or if she had died on the day of her birth or shortly there after. I had to do research and gather as much information as possible to see if I would even be able to bring the child here."

Asuma studied him for a moment- as did the others still present- before his son made a low growling sound in the back of his throat and then huffed like he used to when he was a small child throwing a tantrum, and hugged Naru a little tighter and glared at his father before asking slowly. "Well now that she's here... Where is she staying? Is she in school yet?"

"She's been living with me-" Sarutobi started to say when Asuma gave him a glare so cold that he wondered if he was about to be challenged to a fight by his son when Asuma said,

"I've got room at my place for the little tyke. I'll take her for a bit before she learns something from you that she shouldn't." Sarutobi looked away so that his son and the others wouldn't notice the blush coloring his pale cheeks as he thought, _Like what? The swearing? The killing? The random mischief? Too late for that crap- _No if Asuma took Naru even for a little while at this point, despite his story about her being the man's niece, there was no way to hide certain aspects of her personality nor habits.

And that could spell trouble for the child.

"I'm sorry son. But Naru stays here. The tower is all that she knows-" _I am all that she knows, _Sarutobi thought as he started forward to take the girl when the troublesome child finally spoke up as she wrapped her arms around his son's neck and smiled,

"Aw, come on grandpa. Let him take me home for a little bit. I want to get to know my uncle." At which point Sarutobi froze and stared at the girl as if she had just grown another head as he tried to deny the girl, but wound up unable to speak. Which Naru apparently took as permission because she turned and looked back at his son and grinned as she said, "Well looks like I'm all yours." While the elder suddenly got the mental image of the village burning to the ground in the middle of the night and shivered as his son and the other shinobi disappeared- taking Naru with them.


	11. Chapter 11

The moment that Sarutobi managed to gather his wits and returned to semi normal- he began to panic.

Well and truly panic.

_Oh god, oh god, oh god- _He thought as he spent a few minutes just sort of waiting for a bomb or something to go off a few miles away. And when nothing immediately happened, turned and went into his home. Where he then spent thirty minutes packing to leave the village for a very, _very_ long vacation- leaving a note saying that Hatake was temporary Hokage and Shikaku Nara was to be one of his advisors.

And if when his vacation was over, he returned to find the village nothing more than a massive crater. Well accidents have been known to happen. Especially when Naru was involved.

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Asuma walked the streets of the village with Kakashi, and Kurenai trailing not too far behind him, curious about what would happen next while he tried to think of what to do with the child in his arms. Naru, for all the excitement thus far- appeared to be a quiet child with no questions. No qualms. She was just quietly accepting of- He felt a slight tug on his shirt sleeve and almost tripped over his own feet as he came to a stop and glanced up at the little girl.

"Uncle Suma... I don't have any toys or clothing so I can stay with you." She stated causing the strong urge to bang his head against a wall of bricks rising up within him.

"Oh," He said stupidly as he thought over her words. "R-Right..." He had just more or less taken her away from his father without allowing her to get any clothing or toys. So now he pretty much owed her. Especially since she couldn't run naked through the countryside and he knew next to nothing about entertaining children. Turning around to address his friends, he started first with Kakashi.

"Hey Kakashi-" He got no further than that before his 'friend' took off at a dead run in the opposite direction of him before he could so much as finish his sentence. Leaving him standing there with a very peeved looking Kurenai.

"Well... He's helpful." She said sarcastically as he blinked at her then Naru who grinned evilly and held up something that looked suspiciously like Kakashi's wallet and secret coin purse.

"Yeah..." Asuma said numbly, not really managing to process everything at the moment as he thought, _All I was going to do was ask to borrow some money. What did he run away for?_

"He was _very_ helpful." Naru said happily as she handed the two objects to Asuma and smiled at him as she squirmed in his grasp, a perfect indication that she wished to put down. Asuma did as she wanted while continuing to stare at the wallet and coin purse in his hand, wondering _who_ she had gotten them off of as well as the _how _of things since he seriously doubted that his father would be teaching her certain bad habits.

Besides, she looked far too innocent to be anything like a little pick pocket. He thought as she smiled sweetly at him and took his hand in hers and started to tug him along behind her on the street as they resumed their walk as Kurenai sighed and shook her head and mentally debated on ducking out gracefully so that Asuma could get to know his niece.

And nothing helped you get to know a person like a small shopping spree for clothing, food, and toys. But first thing was first, Asuma would have to do something about the blood drying on her skin and in her hair...

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Meanwhile-

Kakashi stopped running only when he was absolutely certain he was across the village from Asuma and the latest Sarutobi hell spawn. Laughing softly to himself in triumph because he had managed to escape, the wily wolf-like Jounin flashed a quick silver grin and slipped his hands in his pockets. Deciding that since he had escaped- it was now time to grab something to eat since he hadn't been able to finish his food earlier.

Moving his hands around in his pockets, he paused in mid step as he realized that he couldn't feel his coin purse or his wallet. And started to freak out a little bit as he shouted, "_WHAT_ _THE FUCK?!_ _Where's my wallet?"_

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Back across the village-

Kurenai held the squirming child in her arms and was attempting to clean her off enough to make her appearance more appropriate for shopping when Naru suddenly stilled and tipped her head back and asked, "Did you hear that?"

Blinking, she glanced around the ladies room then back down at Naru, "No. Why? Did you hear something?"

"The howl of a confused and angry wolf." Naru said with a small grin before Kurenai started wiping her down again, causing her to squirm in her grasp in another futile attempt to escape.


	12. Chapter 12

Shortly after cleaning Naru up for her uncle, Kurenai left. But not before the child somehow managed to manipulate Asuma into 'thanking' her with a bouquet of red poppies. Her favorite flower.

And a nice dinner with just the three of them at the nicest place in the village. Which Naru apparently ate free at whenever she liked because the owner had really stepped into it a while back with the Hokage when he had brought her there to eat once for one of her birthday's.

So naturally when he had seen Asuma walk in with the child, the man had met the three at their table with a pleasant smile while trying to hold back tears.

Finding the man's behavior just a little strange, both adults had looked at him funny, then glanced at Naru who wore nothing but a happy, innocent (*cough* _evil_ *cough*) expression on her face as she looked over her menu while subtly signing to the man without being noticed by the two adults sitting with her that if he didn't want to die, he should play along.

And play along he did. Just like any good puppet.

He was polite, courteous, and all smiles despite the weird tears running down his face like little rivers that reminded the two adults a little two much of their friend, Gai.

"Do you know what you'd like Naru?" Asuma asked curiously as he broke off his small bit of conversation with Kurenai to look over at the little blond. Finding it somewhat strange that a child her age could be so quiet, or sit so still for any length of time.

But then she had been living with his father for a while, and it was entirely possible that since he was already training her in the shinobi arts that perhaps her quietness and stillness was something that she had picked up from her training. Sort of like her...other peculiar habits that he'd noticed already.

Like the pick pocketing, and somehow managing to manipulate him and Kurenai into going on a date.

Yeah, he'd figured the whole flowers and dinner thing out the second they had sat down to eat in the nicest place in the village. The sly little minx had even somehow managed to wrangle out what kind of flowers were Kurenai's favorites just to earn him some extra brownie points.

And he wasn't entirely sure just yet... But he now had more than a sneaky suspicion that the wallet and change purse that she had handed to him right after Kakashi had left- had belonged to the silver haired nin.

And he was absolutely _dreading_ how to explain that one to the Copy nin who would no doubt be furious and have blood in his eye for quite some time after he returned them to him since he was likely to be broke for a little while.

At least until Asuma could pay him back plus interest since the money was paying for their meal, and Naru's new clothes and toys.

He merely kept reminding himself that he and Kakashi were friends, and it wasn't like the man had never borrowed money from him or eaten lunch or dinner somewhere and stuck him with the bill before. So technically this was more like Kakashi finally paying him back.

Okay, he knew that was a damn lie and what he was doing was wrong but sitting in the booth across from the most beautiful woman he'd ever known (not to mention his somewhat secret crush) and the adorable little blond that had manipulated him into this date- he found he really couldn't care less about Kakashi at the moment.

He studied Naru for a moment as she did this weird little nail tapping motion that not only him gaping at her in shock, but Kurenai too apparently. And it wasn't just because the motion was odd or anything per say, it had more to do with the fact that it gave Naru a much older appearance.

Like a girl in her teens or her twenties or something.

And that's the moment that something clicked for him concerning his niece. The reason she didn't act much like a kid her age was because she appeared to be more mature and somewhat adult like. Though many of her actions were playful and tinged with mischief, she was in fact _not_ as childish as she appeared to be.

And as if to prove it, she did the little motion again and slowly folded her menu and said easily. As if her reply had been rehearsed a million times, "I'll have the chicken and vegetable stir fry, miso soup, and a small side salad. And for after dinner I want two sweet buns with red bean paste in them. And green tea sweetened with honey-" No sooner than she had finished speaking than the owner appeared with a tray of food and placed the dishes in front of her along with her drink and then practically ran back to the kitchen to get Asuma and Kurenai something because of the dark look the child had sent him that practically screamed volumes about how unimpressed she currently was with the service.

He returned barely three minutes later, red faced and out of breath as he set to lobster dinners down before the two adults and long with some really nifty side dishes and some drinks and started to leave when Asuma spoke up, "H-Hey! We didn't order these."

The man turned and gave Naru a nervous look before smiling to the best of his ability under such scrutiny from the demon child and replied as carefully and smoothly as he could while he saw her eyes flash crimson, "Your the thousandth customers. So you get a nice lobster dinner, and to sweeten the pot- it's all on the house."

"Really? I've never-"

"Thousandth customers!" The man insisted, cutting Asuma off as he then scampered off to hide and wait until the three were gone. Maybe if he were lucky, the child would leave his business alone instead of ripping the roof off and unleashing a whole herd of rodents and rusting the pipes and causing heavy flooding like the last time she had been displeased with him and his service.


End file.
